You Cannot Make It Up
Kodai Senga struggled again, the Mets dropped their third straight and a Juan Soto injury concern.
Wednesday: June 24
With Francisco Lindor just a day or two away from returning from the injured list, the Mets lost their other superstar Tuesday night.
Juan Soto exited New York’s 9-6 loss to the Cubs after four innings due to what the club termed left side back tightness.
Carlos Mendoza later revealed that Soto’s “back locked up,” adding that it was affecting both his swing and throwing, though the early belief is that the injury is a spasm and that Soto is day-to-day.
In a season where Soto and Lindor have shared the field for only 11 games, the uncertainty surrounding Soto became just the latest blow for a Mets team that desperately needed a win and instead watched another ugly night unfold.
And honestly, you cannot make this stuff up.
The Mets entered Tuesday needing to start a run.
Instead, they fell 9-6 to the Cubs, dropped their third straight and have now been outscored 30-11 over their last three games.
Back to ten games below .500, the first seven games of this homestand suddenly feel less like an opportunity and more like life support.
As if the concern surrounding Soto wasn’t enough, Kodai Senga’s night quickly turned into another nightmare.
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Senga looked sharp early, needing just 15 pitches in a perfect first inning while touching 99 mph.
Then reality settled in fast.
The Cubs erupted for five runs in the second.
Senga issued two walks, including one with the bases loaded, hit another batter and on his 44th pitch of the night surrendered a three-run homer to former Mets prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Just like that, the Mets were playing from behind again.
And it’s becoming a theme.
In their losses, the Mets continue to bury themselves early.
Through the first three innings this season, New York starters own a 5.49 ERA, the second-worst mark in baseball.
They simply continue putting the offense in holes too deep to escape.
The Mets briefly answered.
Francisco Alvarez delivered a two-run single and Carson Benge worked a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to 5-3, but any momentum was quickly erased.
Dansby Swanson ripped an RBI single and the Cubs continued to pile on.
By the time Senga exited to boos after allowing seven runs in just 3.2 innings, the damage had already been done.
Somehow, Senga’s ERA climbed from 9.00 to 10.08 and his winless streak reached 16 starts dating back to June 12, 2025.
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Before the game, David Stearns pointed to high walk rates as a focus area for the pitching staff.
A few hours later, the Mets issued seven more walks.
It was the same story that plagued them in 2025 and it continues to haunt them now.
The ninth inning made the final score look respectable, but this game was never really close.
Not after Senga imploded.
Not after another early deficit.
And certainly not after Soto walked off the field.
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Wednesday now brings a day-night doubleheader and a quick turnaround for a team that hasn’t won since Thursday in Philadelphia.
The Mets needed to begin a run Tuesday night.
Instead, they got another loss and another injury scare.
And right now, that’s about all they can afford.
🏟️ From The Stands 🏟️
✍🏼 by Donald Cucuzzella:
I still remember growing up and asking for one thing every birthday:
A trip to Citi Field.
Even now, any free summer day usually starts with the same question to friends or family:
“Does anybody want to go to the game?”
It took until June 10 for me to finally make my first trip to Citi Field this season.
Riding the LIRR with my mom, I had the biggest smile on my face. I was finally going back.
And despite the Mets losing 8-2 to the Cardinals, the score wasn’t what made it memorable.
It was because, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t having fun.
That sounds strange, because I’ve sat through plenty of bad baseball.
I’ve sat through 90-loss seasons. I’ve sat through blowouts. I’ve sat through rain delays and meaningless September games.
The closest Mets game I can relate this experience to was in 2023, Rangers vs Mets on August 29 at Citi Field.
As we all remember, the Mets had blown up their team by trading almost everyone and were punting, looking to rebuild next season.
The starting lineup for that game?
Look at the bottom of the Mets’ lineup.
But I still had my favorite Mets in there:
Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Jeff McNeil.
I stayed for a game in 2024 when the Mets were down 10-1 because I still wanted one more at-bat from Pete, one more chance to watch Nimmo.
Even when the team was bad, there were always players I had grown attached to.
David Wright was that player when I was younger.
Then it became Jacob deGrom.
Then Pete Alonso.
Those players gave me a reason to come back.
And maybe that’s why June 10 felt so different.
For the first time, I walked into Citi Field and realized I wasn’t there to watch my favorite players.
I was just there to watch a baseball team.
And there’s a difference.
Sure, Juan Soto is a superstar.
Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing are exciting.
Maybe Nolan McLean becomes the next homegrown cornerstone.
Maybe Benge becomes the next player kids wear on the back of their jerseys.
I hope so.
Because that’s what baseball has always been to me.
Not payrolls. Not projections. Not roster flexibility.
Players.
Maybe David Stearns’ philosophy is the right one -- or maybe it isn’t.
Maybe shorter contracts and roster flexibility are simply how baseball works now -- or maybe it isn’t.
From a front office perspective, it may make perfect sense.
But from a fan’s perspective, connections matter too.
And maybe that’s what I realized sitting in Citi Field that night.
Not that I love the Mets any less.
Just that I’m still waiting to fall in love with this version of them.
📸 Where Mets History Comes Back To Life
Seven-years-ago, yesterday. Back on 6/23/2019. Pete Alonso hit his 27th home run of the season to break Darryl Strawberry’s club record for home runs by a rookie. Strawberry hit 26 homers in 122 games, while Alonso hit his 27th home run in his 77th game 🔽
🗞️ News and Notes In Mets Land 🗞️
🔷 Christian Scott is slated to come off the injured list this weekend and start a game against the Phillies. Could be Saturday, the day he’s first eligible to return.
🔶 Luis Robert Jr. “looked normal” in his full BP session in the cages today, Carlos Mendoza said. He was “symptom free pretty much” Now he needs to ramp up in his running progression.
🔷 David Peterson is expected to play a part in Friday’s game, either as starter or opener.
🔶 The Mets have claimed outfielder Jared Oliva off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.
Oliva has played parts of three seasons in the major leagues and played for the Giants earlier this season.
🔷 Francisco Lindor finished 2-for-5 last night for Triple-A Syracuse. He played eight innings at shortstop.
The Mets’ training staff will evaluate him and it is possible he could return as soon as today.
🏟️ Around The League 🏟️
🐠 Sandy Alcantara is the new Marlins’ franchise leader in strikeouts. His 1,002 punchout career passed Ricky Nolasco for the most in Marlins history.
🚀 Cal Raleigh hit his eighth home run of the season. It was his first long ball since April 27th. The MVP runner-up in the AL last season has been mired in a season-long slump with a lengthly stay on the IL with an oblique injury.
🥵 Royals Jac Caglianone continued his sizzling streak. He crushed two home runs and now has six in his last five games. The Royals defeated the Rays, 12-5.
💎 Brewers Brandon Sproat pitched the game of his career. The former Met, traded for Freddy Peralta, fired six-shutout innings allowing just one hit, no walks, with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Milwaukee shutout the Reds, 2-0.
⚾️ Today, the Mets (34-44) will play a doubleheader against Chicago (41-37) from Citi Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm for game one of the twinbill. Nolan McLean (4-4, 3.67) toes the rubber for New York against Cubs’ LHP, Shota Imanaga (4-6,4.26).
Game two will see Sean Manaea take on Cubs’ right-hander, Javier Assad. First pitch is set for 7:10pm. Game one can be seen on SNY, with game two airing on WPIX.
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Being that I have sat at all these games with you at Citi Field (and paid for most of the tickets LOL) I agree with you. I hope Benge and Ewing and McClean become the next Alonso, Nimmo, etc. But right now I'm just not there with this team and it really makes me not want to invest the time and money into going to a game up there.
Me and my friends in our Truth Social Mets group really feel exactly like Donald Cucuzzella.